In a potential outcome, Trump may be compelled to pay $370 million in a fraud case.
Donald Trump has legal issues that run from the attempted overturn of the 2020 election to his recent removal from the state of Colorado's election ballot.
According to a report from The Hill, New York Attorney General, Letitia James, has petitioned the judge, that Trump be compelled to pay an approximate penalty of $370 million and impose a lifetime ban on the former president and two top executives, preventing them from engaging in real estate business in New York.
This is on the basis that the ex-president, along with his business and various high-ranking executives, including his two sons, employed "myriad deceptive schemes" to inaccurately boost his net worth by billions, as stated in court filings just before the closing statements in his ongoing fraud trial.
The report then goes on to cite Trump's statement of "financial condition". These are comprehensive documents outlining the value of assets held by the Trump Organization. These statements were submitted to banks and insurers to facilitate loans and agreements, constituting what the state claims to be evidence of fraud.
To counter Trump's defense teams made the argument that Banks sought collaboration with The Trump Organization, and after conducting thorough due diligence, the banks discovered no evidence of fraud.
The defesne brief also stated, according to The Hill article, that "errors or misstatements happen all the time in accounting, if there are no indicia of fraud such as concealment, forgery, or deceit, then there is no basis to determine that these SFCs are fraudulent, and any misstatements are just accidental errors ".
In their plea to the judge, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have articulated their wish for the dismissal of the case against them. They argue that the Attorney General failed to demonstrate that they "possessed anything beyond a peripheral understanding or involvement in the formulation, preparation, or utilization" of their father's financial statements.
Their lawyer, Clifford Robert also stated, "The record evidence and testimony adduced at trial conclusively establishes that the SFCs were prepared, in their entirety, by others at the company working in conjunction with the company's long time outside accountants."
As the 2024 election approaches, it becomes evident that the former president must expedite legal matters to shift attention to his campaign.
